Have You Ever Regretted Making a Recipe?

Last Wednesday, when I was making the food for an Apples to Apples theme party, I couldn't help but ask myself, "Whose stupid idea was it to plan an entire menu of apple dishes?" The idea was mine, of course. It was a great idea in theory, but I didn't realize that I would have to peel, slice, core, and chop 18 apples. It took me an hour and it was the first time I seriously regretted making a certain recipe. Has this ever happened to you?

I think regret is a strong word to use, especially for cooking. I guess the only time I'd regret making a recipe would be if it made someone sick! Thankfully that's never happened. :)
There are plenty of things I've made that I won't make again, because either they turned out poorly or were way too much trouble. (Falafel comes to mind - that was a horrible culinary event!) But you won't know until you attempt it, so you either make something you like and will make again, or you make something you don't like or decide not to make again. Regret doesn't enter into the equation for me - it's all about trial and error (and success!)

5 years

Yes! I tried to make a recipe for fried rice cakes. My husband loves rice, loves anything fried and I thought they'd be similar to grit cakes. Um, not even close. My biggest mistake was thinking I could actually fry something (which I had never attempted before). They were horrible and I nearly burned down the house!

5 years

I was flattered when my boss said she loved the baked goods I brought in, so I agreed to make red hat cookies for our yearly fundraiser. Little did I realize that I would spend an entire day cutting out 100 small and 100 large cookies, sticking them together to look like hats, frosting them, and adding tiny decorations to make each one look unique. I eventually enlisted my boyfriend to help (though he kept trying to get me to call my boss to say that I couldn't do it). Then someone forgot to put them out at the fundraiser! My office (and every person who came in the front door) was eating hat cookies for weeks.

You're kidding, of course. I just love when you follow directions and ingredients - exactly - as these "superchefs" have laid out...and then it's mediocre. Time....money....and disappointed tastebuds = regret. Seriously! When the food network chefs (as an example) finish their dishes, taste them - and comment on how wonderful they are - they should really have an audience member doing the tasting and commenting. Guaranteed - there would be some adjustments made to recipes. The comments alone tell you how to tweek recipes. But - my gripe is...why aren't the chefs doing that before they post their recipes?

I have never regretted spending a lot of time preparing anything, but I can't stand it when I make a recipe and it turns out to be so awful that no one wants to eat it.. it's ALWAYS a lot, and I hate throwing food out; so I usually add more stuff to make it better, which makes it end up with an even more awful taste, and even more awful food.

I decided to make General Tso's chicken for my husband because he thought it'd be better than takeout, but it wound up being a giant pain. I had to buy a bunch of random ingredients and spent about 2 hours prepping it and stuff. It turned out OK, but it was a LOT easier to just order it from the Chinese restaurant!

yes, apple pie 2 thanksgivings ago. my bf and i included too many apples! and we realized we didn't have time to make the crust so we sprinkled shortening on it... so gross. this past thanksgiving we made everything by scratch except the pie, which we store-bought. cheating, i know, but hey, we didn't want to take any chances this time.

Yum!! You need either 1) http://seattlebonvivant.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/apple_corer_slicer_1.JPG or 2) http://upload.ecvv.com/upload/Product/20088/China_apple_peeler_corer_slicer200881919582.jpg
Anyway, the one recipe that I regret making had to do with apples as well. I made my own apple sauce. It wasn't good and 5 apples only made one serving of applesauce. It was such a waste of apples.

I once broiled a hotdog, as I had done many times before. (I like how this method makes the outside of the dog crisp.) Anywho, apparently a bit of grease splattered on to the heating element. In short, I started the hotdog, and the oven, on fire. I extinquished the mess myself, but called the fire department as a precaution, and ended up impressing a couple of local hosers with my amazing culinary skills.

Totally. When I tried to make homemade pretzels it was my first time using yeast and it apparently didn't activate. We ended up feeding the "pretzels" to the birds. :(
Also, anytime I cook with fish sauce (which is very very seldom) it stinks up the entire house for so long it's not even really worth it...

i often find myself agreeing to make elaborate cakes and other desserts, which i really do *love*, but something always goes awry and i wonder if it's really worth the time, effort and pricey ingredients...i'm just still bitter at the last request for a friend of a friend's party...no, i'm just not nice enough to volunteer 8 hours of my free time and $50 worth of fancy ingredients...obviously they didn't agree because there was no offer of reimbursement :P ...lesson learned

Salt Crusted Pork Roast with Juniper Berries and Black Pepper. The meat was incredibly moist, but you lose those beautiful pan drippings because of the salt crust, and the juniper flavor was overpowering, even after. Everyone else loved it, I could not stomach the smell let alone eat it.
Here it is:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/12/roasted_salt_and_spice_packed_pork_loin

I made a Duck Soup with Soba Noodles once, which took around 5 - 6 hours to make (roasting the duck, making the stock, made the noodles fresh). After all was said and done, it was a tasty meal, but definitely not worth the time put into it. I'm not sure I regret it, but it's something I won't be jumping at again unless I alter the recipe to get more flavor in there.

5 years

I made my mom's (secret, old-family recipe) lasagna on Saturday night for my mother-in-law. The huge regret: I spent - literally - all day making this and she ate about 4 bites and then said she wasn't hungry, but wanted the recipe. Er. No.
But I did get to eat loads of it, so that was good.